The Lucky Ones
Author's Note after the story, I disclaim any and all rights to any of the content recognisable as J.K. Rowling's wonderful work, only the plot tweaking is mine.
Draco marched angrily down the flagstone corridors of the dungeons, running a hand through his hair. He clenched his crinkled tie in his hand, ignoring the searing pain flaring in his knuckles.
He was Draco Malfoy, damn it! He would not be ridiculed in front of his house.
Glaring into space, he climbed the first of several flights of stairs, heading for his dorms. Cursing their distance, cursing his girlfriend's existence, cursing his house, he steadily made his way through the castle, strong legs flashing up the moving stairs silently.
Reaching the seventh floor, he turned, weaving his way around the labyrinth until he came out at the strange balcony extending seven floors above the doors to the great hall.
He stormed past the staring portraits, passing Helena and Rowena, then the large arch-shaped painting of the current headmaster, past Godric and stopped in front of Salazar. "Teach just those whose ancestry's purest," he growled, and was met with the slight nod of the Founder's head.
The portrait swung open smoothly and he stepped through the narrow gap in the wall, walking briskly along the long corridor, taking the left fork and spitting out the password into his own room.
Pansy would pay, he vowed darkly, staring up at the grey canopy of his bed. And she would pay more than she was willing to give.
-:-
The next morning he stood on the balcony, resting his arms on the thick stone railing and peering down at the students entering the hall for breakfast. He eyed all of them carefully, the wheels turning in his head. His eagle eyes scanned all of the seventh year girls, regardless of house or status, looking for the perfect one.
From behind him came the strange grating of the cover to the archway flickering, and the jovial "Good Morning" of the blinking Headmaster as the Head Girl stepped through him.
He didn't turn his head as she stepped out of the common room, though he could hear her light, speedy footsteps as she brushed past him, sending a tantalising shot of vanilla through his senses. He could hear the light swish of her clothing and the slight clunking of her books as she shifted them in her arms, clutching them to her chest.
She hadn't looked at him since the evening they had first been shown to their common rooms; the two preferred to communicate through obscure notes and detailed observations, sending each other schedules and meetings and speeches through enchantments and paper planes. They worked surprising well as a team, despite the lack of actual communication, each easily giving orders and instructions and collaborating with one another during prefect meetings and when collaborating on reports to the Headmaster, despite their lack of verbal communications.
Nevertheless, he knew her - he knew her voice, her smile, her laugh. He knew the scent trailing her, and it was always fresh to him even though he smelt it every day, he knew her schedule, and he knew how she would react. He knew she was brave; much braver than he or any of the several times accursed Death Eaters constantly invading his home.
He watched her skirt flash out behind her as she skipped quickly down the last few stairs, he watched her pause in front of the doors to the great hall to fix a smile on her face, he watched her smooth her uniform and tuck in her shirt, and he smiled slightly, absently as she raised her shoulders, putting on a brave face for her friends.
And then she strode in, the same every day, and his smile widened oddly, curling as his eyes locked on her disappearing figure, admiring her graceful lope and strong poise, and he knew he had found what he had been looking for.
She was all wrong; in the wrong house, of the wrong blood, with the wrong company, but at the same time she was so perfectly right she couldn't be a coincidence. And his smile widened, his spine straightened. Her figure was out of sight, but not out of his mind. Not yet, not ever.
A/N This is a new story that just popped into my head literally out of nowhere, and I'm ridiculously busy, but it had to be written! You can leave any suggestions or ideas in the comments and I will read them, this story is a long way from complete so imagine your heart out!
It's not even close to the next update, but I really just wanted to put this up and see the reaction to it. If it is good, I'll post another as an Easter present, but if it's bad I'll just tweak it and put it on hold for a while, but I really do like what this may become, so there's pretty much definite plans to continue it in the future :)